Sandra Cano, the woman at the center of a 1973 abortion decision, spoke out after the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the case.

BY TIM DRAKE

Register senior writer

October 29-November 4, 2006 Issue |
Posted 10/25/06 at 10:00 AM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme
Court Oct. 10 declined to hear a case brought by Sandra Cano, the plaintiff in
the Doe v. Bolton case, decided on
Jan. 22, 1973 — the same day as Roe v.
Wade.

The Doe decision allowed for abortion up until the moment of birth if
necessary for the health of the mother.

According to Cano, the original
case was advanced without her understanding of what was going on.

Cano spoke with Register senior
writer Tim Drake from her home in Atlanta.

What was your reaction to hearing that the Supreme Court had denied to
rehear your case?

This is very unconstitutional. A
lot of people know that this case was based on fraud. During oral arguments,
when this was argued in 1973, one of the justices when asked if I was real or
not said it was ‘irrelevant.’

How can you take an American who
is protected under our U.S. Constitution, put them on this case and not check
the facts to see if this person was real or not? To me, that’s
unconstitutional. The Supreme Court failed to protect my constitutional rights.
I was used in a case that I was never involved in. There is no justice in this
case.

How does it feel to be connected to this case?

It’s a nightmare to be connected
to a case that I never wanted to be connected to. Doe v. Bolton allows abortion up to the ninth month. This case
takes children’s lives.

Can you explain to me what happened? How did you become involved in the
case?

Back in 1970, I had a very
complicated marriage and had two children in foster care. I was pregnant and
wanted to get my babies back from foster care. I was poor, uneducated and
ignorant. My life was very unstable. I was in a survival state. I went to
Atlanta Legal Aid to get a divorce. Whoever was there to try to help me, I
trusted. That’s how I became unknowingly involved with Doe v. Bolton. Never once did I know that we were going to kill
babies.

I can’t understand how a case like
this could go to the Supreme Court without anyone knowing or speaking to me to
find out if what the attorney was presenting to the court was true. I was so
ignorant I didn’t know that there were two cases that legalized abortion.

I ran away to Oklahoma to keep from having an abortion.
They knew I was against abortion. GradyMemorialHospital
said I had gone before a panel of nine doctors and nurses to seek an abortion.
I never sought an abortion. The hospital has no records because I never went to
the hospital.

It was only later that I learned
that, through Margie Pitt Hames, I had sued GeorgiaBaptistHospital
to have an abortion.

When and how did you find out the truth?

In 1974, I went to Georgia Right
to Life to try to find someone to help me. I told them that I was the woman who
was involved in the abortion law, but didn’t know what it was about. They sent
me to Fayetteville
to seek help. On and off over the years, I would come forward, but when you
don’t have money or people willing to help, a lot of people think you’re
someone off the nut wagon.

In the 1980s, I talked to an Atlanta Journal and Constitution
newspaper reporter. She told me I had to prove who I was. I asked, “How do you
do that?” She told me I had to go down to the court to verify that I was the
person involved in the case. When I did that, they told me I had to go to the
Federal Archives building. When I did that, they gave me this humongous book to
look through. I didn’t understand half of it. I was out of my league. There was
also a sealed envelope. I wanted to open it, but couldn’t. They told me that I
would have to go to the court to have my records unsealed. Someone at the court
showed me how to petition the court to unseal the records.

A week later, Judge Owen Foster
called me. He told me, “I don’t normally do this, but think you need a lawyer.
We’re going to be hearing your case.” I found an attorney and went down to the
court to unseal the records. Margie Pitt Hames didn’t
want me to open the records.

After unsealing the records I
wrote to the Supreme Court. They said that the statute of limitations had
passed.

Who is working with you on the case now?

The Justice
Foundation and Allan Parker. These are wonderful people. They took on this case, and
have been working with me and Norma McCorvey knowing
that we have no money to pay them. They have put their hearts and souls into
the case. They want to stop the killing of babies. They produce the “Operation
Outcry” television program that shows the pain of women who have had abortions.
Abortion hurts women, too. It destroys their lives. This is a horrible thing
that our country has allowed to happen.

What do you have planned next?

We plan to appeal the Supreme
Court decision. I have tried 33 years to get justice. The message they are
sending to me is that I don’t matter. God has a plan to undo all of this. I’m
not going to quit. Justices Alito and Roberts are
Godly men. If the court could take and use my name, can they not respect me
enough to open their ears and hear this case? All I’m asking for is for them to
give me an opportunity. They should reexamine what was put before them.